Last April, Piotr Lazarek, ENG’25, W’25 — now an alumnus — was awarded the 2025 President’s Sustainability Prize. His winning startup, Nirby, uses real-time soil analysis to help farmers remedy inefficiencies and reduce their carbon footprint.

During his time at Penn, Lazarek received a scholarship for students in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, a dual degree program at Wharton and Penn Engineering, and earned support from Venture Lab’s VIP-X accelerator, both of which helped him take Nirby to the next level. Now that a year has passed, Penn Today spoke with Lazarek about where his venture is now. Lazarek’s success highlights the long-term impact of investing in Penn’s most promising students.

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There’s nothing quite like returning to campus for MBA Reunion Weekend, a time-honored tradition that brings the Wharton community together to learn and strengthen lifelong ties. Reunion offers something for everyone. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to register.

Many alumni celebrating Reunion join their Class Gift to The Wharton Fund, in the spirit of giving back and connecting their Wharton experience to current and future generations of students. The Wharton Fund sustains the programs and opportunities that make our community so exceptional.

Explore what the Class Gift Campaign makes possible. And if you’re in a milestone year, we can’t wait to see you in May.

See How Each Class Makes an Impact

Earlier this year, Wharton alumni, faculty, and friends gathered for Wharton in Focus events in London and New York. The London event featured Dean Erika James in conversation with Professors Joao Gomes and Jules van Binsbergen, who shared content related to Knowledge at Wharton’s Policies That Work series. In New York, the Dean joined Professor Ethan Mollick, who leveraged his expertise and affiliation with the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative to offer practical guidance on using AI. Visit Wharton Magazine for a full recap of both energizing events!

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